An artisan resident in Ejigbo, Osun State, Kazeem Folajinmi, has been arrested by men of the Osun State Police Command for being in possession of locally-fabricated guns.
The blacksmith, who was paraded before journalists at the Osun Police Command Headquarters, Osogbo, on Friday, during an interview, said he specialised in the fabrication of keys, cutlasses, and hoes.
Folajinmi, however, denied being the owner of the firearms, saying some people brought them for the man who had a shop next to his, who was apprehended last year.
He said, “I was arrested late on Sunday and I was taken to my shop where they discovered all these items (locally-fabricated guns). I know about the fabrication of keys, hoes, axes, and cutlasses, but the guns they found don’t belong to me. The person that fabricated them had been picked but before his arrest, he was having a shop close to mine.
“Where these guns were found is right beside my shop and it has a separate door. The person I earlier mentioned owns the place. But I collected the guns from those that brought them for the man I said earlier had been arrested. He is currently in prison.
“He has been in prison since last year. I only assisted him to receive the guns that had been damaged for repair. It was like I was under a spell. He fabricated the guns for them and they brought them back to him to repair. I should have told them to take the guns away when they brought them.”
The Osun State police spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, said the suspect could not give reasonable explanation about how he came about the firearms.
She assured that a thorough investigation would be conducted into the matter.
